Each of us Individually Can Make Tomorrow Memorable
by Gov. Frank Keating
Nature abhors a vacuum. It is incumbent on each of us who cares about a viable, embracing, sharing society to fill that vacuum with messages and actions of hope, smarts, progress, and goodwill. It is not rocket-science, but it does require some form of muscular leadership from each of us. Things will not improve; problems will not be solved; and tomorrow will not be better if we simply look out the window.
My dad frequently said that we all owe something back. He served on the Tulsa City Commission and the State Highway Commission. One grandfather, a Republican, supervised the Pennsylvania corrections system. Another granddad, a Democrat, served as Congressman at large from Illinois during the Depression’s depths and supported the fledgling New Deal when our countrymen faced joblessness and fear of tomorrow. Things were bad and looked worse. It was an upside-down time of fright and uncertainty.
But we made it through because we held hands and held together.
The sun rose. The land greened. We survived as integral parts of the American family. E Pluribus Unum. We made it.
Frank Keating
Oklahoma’s governor from 1995 through 2002, Keating also is the author of five award-winning children’s books, biographies of Will Rogers, Theodore Roosevelt, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Standing Bear, the Ponca Indian chief who argued Native Americans deserve the same rights as white Americans and Alexander Hamilton. He is the recipient of six honorary degrees.
He and his wife Cathy live in Oklahoma City, OK. They have three children and eleven grandchildren.
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